1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of carbon-based electronic devices and more specifically to a diamond-shaped graphene nano-patch and interconnecting graphene nano-ribbons to achieve faster and higher density non-volatile magnetic switching units than currently available.
2. Background Art
Electrical switching units are at the core of the microelectronic industry. They are the minimum building blocks in logic (i.e. CPU's) and memory (i.e., RAM's) electronic chips. Consequently, research efforts in the industry are ultimately devoted to searching either for novel switching device units which go beyond the fundamental physical limits (i.e., Moore's law) of current silicon-based technology or for new embedding architectures that can enhance the performance of existing switching units.
Graphene is a one atom thick, two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. Its methods of production, as well as its characteristics and application to the field of electronics, are thoroughly described in a paper entitled Production, Properties and Potential of Graphene by Saldano, Mahmood and Dujardin, CEMES-CNRS UPR 8011, pg. 1-57, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The application of graphene to nano-electronics is discussed in an article entitled Graphene Nanoelectronics by R. M. Westervelt (Vol. 320 Science Magazine, pg. 324 to 325, 18 Apr. 2008) which is also hereby incorporated herein by reference. Another article of particular relevance to the present invention is entitled Topological Frustration in Graphene Nanoflakes: Magnetic Order and Spin Logic Devices, by Wang, Yazyev, Meng and Kaxiras (Vol. 102 Physical Review Letters, pg. 157201-1 to 157201-4, 17 Apr. 2009) which is also incorporated herein by reference. Relevant published U.S. patent applications include 2009/0226361; 2009/0174435; and 2010/0047154.